


Can I have this dance?

by pastelserpent



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Crushes, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Gryffindor, Gryffindor Common Room, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Era, Mutual Pining, Quidditch, Slow Build, Slow Romance, Teen Crush, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:47:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29250945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pastelserpent/pseuds/pastelserpent
Summary: “why not go with his roommate?” I shot her a confused look as we stepped inside the already crowded great hall, and moved swiftly over to the Gryffindor table, “take Wood.” She stated as though it was obvious, “I’d rather not,” I muttered, sliding onto the bench opposite her, with our friends sat to the right of us, and the seat next to me open. “why not? He’s cute,” my eyebrow raised, “you have a boyfriend,” she shrugged, “girl I'm not blind, he’s cute, you’re cute, you probably won’t kill him, you should go with him.” I scoffed quietly, pouring a glass of water so as to not meet her eye or pay her any attention, “just ask him already,” our other friends had finished their conversation and were now listening intently to ours, “just ask who what?” Alice asked, placing down her glass of water, and turning to us, eyebrow raised in a knowing smirk. “she wants me to go to the dance with Wood,” I stated, “I mean it’s not a bad idea lass,” a thick Scottish accent from behind me commented.*1st person perspective** 1st post of Feb!!!*** hope you like it!!!
Relationships: Oliver Wood/Reader
Kudos: 18





	1. A terrible terrible idea

The Gryffindor boys’ dorm was one I spent a lot of time in recently it felt like. Sighing theatrically, I crossed one leg over the other, keeping my eyes on Percy as he thumbed through a notebook. I wasn’t aware of whose bed I was sat on, only that second to Percy’s, it was the most well-made, “so this is how I want to ask her,” he stated handing across the notebook to me, I leant forward to take the pristine notebook from him and read over the page he had put in front of me. 

Flicking through the notebook, I smiled to myself, “it’s a cute idea,” I commented, passing the notebook back to him, as I made myself more comfortable on the bed that I was sat on, “there’s a but coming,” Percy commented, “is it something she’d like” I asked carefully, knowing how delicate of a topic Penelope was for Percy, “she would like it,” he replied earnestly. 

I smiled across at him, “then yes, I think it’s a very nice idea,” he smiled at me gleefully, “thanks!” I nodded offering a small smile, “thanks for giving me some advice, y/n, I really appreciate it,” I smiled once more at him, “of course Perc, no matter how much of a prick you act like, I’ll still help you in any way I can,” he laughed quietly, resting the notebook on his lap.

“what about you though? Has anyone asked you to the dance yet?” I made a tch sound, turning to look at the door as footsteps echoed around, the door opened a second later and in walked Oliver Wood, Gryffindor quidditch captain with a thick Scottish drawl that had girls volunteering to fulfil the role of his next quidditch girlfriend. If only they realised Wood only had time for quidditch, not girls. 

“Perc, y/l/n,” Percy smiled across at him, while I only nodded, before reading his expression, “sorry,” I stated quietly, moving off his bed and across to Percy’s bed, “it’s fine lass, you suit it,” he stated offering a canny wink, I scoffed quietly, settling beside Percy on his bed instead. “so, no one asked you to the dance yet?” Percy asked, pulling my attention away from Wood, 

who had already removed his quidditch cloak, and proceeded to pull off the quidditch jumper on his way into the bathroom, flexing his well-defined back muscles. “no one has asked me,” I confirmed, turning my attention away from the shut bathroom door, and instead to look at Percy, who hadn’t missed the way my eyes had followed Wood. 

“for real? No one asked you?” I shook my head, “in fairness to them, I can understand why you wouldn’t ask me,” his eyebrow rose silently challenging me to give him a decent reason, “why would they Perc?” I replied stretching back on his bed to stretch out the muscles in my back from too many hours hunched over a desk. “you’re intelligent, kind, pretty,” I scoffed again quietly, undoing my cloak from where I had left it around my shoulders, and then promptly pulled off my jumper, “do you people enjoying burning up in here?”

I asked quietly, fanning myself with my hand. “blame Wood, he’s always cold,” the bathroom door opened a second later, and out strolled wood, a pair of sweatpants hanging on his hips, revealing the equally well sculpted torso, perhaps even better sculpted than his back. “I am not always cold, Perc,” Wood stated, shooting a good, humoured smile Percy’s way. “lies,” Percy responded, ignoring the way Wood patted his head sarcastically, “so y/l/n, no date for the dance?” Wood asked, as he began pulling on a jumper, “nope,” I replied, “and why not?” Wood asked flatly, reclining back on his bed, visibly taking in the way my shirt and skirt hugged my curves. 

“why not what?” I replied equally flatly, “why don’t you have a date for the dance yet?” he repeated slowly, “eh,” I stated, deciding not to go into the way I had artfully hidden myself among my taken friends in order to avoid being noticed, and had taken to covering myself up a little more to avoid any unwanted (and I’d bet – desperate) attention. My friends were already stunning – and already got the attention for it – whereas I had always hidden towards the back of the group, just as emersed as anyone else, just hidden away due to insecurities.

“that’s not a reason y/l/n,” he stated, his Scottish drawl growing slightly thicker, “it’s the best reason you are going to get,” I replied hopping to my feet, “see you later Perc,” Percy nodded, offering a quick smile, before sharing a look with Wood – a look that I had no understanding for, and suspected I didn’t want to understand either.

Collecting my cloak, and jumper, I ruffled Percy’s hair, before letting myself back out of the dorm, not looking back, as I strolled down the staircase – having first muttered the spell to keep it from changing. I moved swiftly across to the girl’s dorm that I shared with a few of my friends, and climbed the staircase quickly, opening the door with my free hand, and walking inside, letting it slam shut behind me – having had one too many encounters of walking in on my friends otherwise engaged with their respective partners. 

When no one emerged flustered, I took a breath of relief, and flopped down on my bed – the bed seated directly in the middle of the curved line up of the beds – all of which were surrounding the fire in the middle of the room, which lit the room in a warm sparkling light. Sighing, I collapsed back on my bed, kicking off my shoes before flopping my head against the pillow, and pulling my knees up to the side of me. 

If there was one thing I hated with a passion, it was being centre of attention. I had always managed to fly under the radar to a more or lesser degree – that I was happy with, but dances didn’t allow for anyone to fly under the radar. More importantly, whoever I went to said dance with, would have the whole of Gryffindor tower – and the rest of the year – wondering how I had miraculously agreed to go with them. I was and always had been very private about my personal life – a consequence of having many quidditch players in the family – and as such, had always been incredibly picky about who I would allow near enough to be seen with me. 

Sighing I rolled onto my side, and opened the cabinet beside my bed, rifling through it for a moment before remembering my wand and summoning out of the cabinet the piece of paper with my dad’s handwriting scrawled on it. The note was meant to be a reminder of the quidditch camp he would be running over the break – that he expected all of his children to help at. It wasn’t as bad as it sounded, usually I would work there anyway, my brother (a pro quidditch player) and my sister (dating a quidditch player, working as quidditch commentator) naturally took the lead, and I would support, seeing as I was the least interested in a quidditch based career. 

Sighing again; I ran my hand through my hair, my dad had multiple coaches to help with the trainees and hopefuls, and over the years I had seen more than one person from Hogwarts training there over the breaks, as well as several of the previous quidditch captains working as coaches – though I had always managed to avoid being in the spotlight. It was a fairly well-kept secret who my family were, and it was not something I had promoted while at Hogwarts, my brother and sister had both graduated already, so I was now the only y/l/n still at Hogwarts, and being in my fifth year, it wouldn’t be long before people finally clicked who the rest of my family was. 

It was only thanks to my friend’s discreet natures, and them helping me stay out of the limelight, that my name had flown under the radar for as long as it had. But somehow, I suspected the dance might put an end to that, people might finally pay some attention and realise Dominic and Lilliana y/l/n, were my older siblings and not just people who coincidentally shared the same surname as me. 

And if by some miracle the dance didn’t demonstrate who my family, then my dad’s quidditch training camp most certainly would. My dad was one of the most respected quidditch players and coaches in the industry, he had turned out many good players – not least my brother – and his reputation most certainly proceeded him. The same could be said for my siblings. 

My mum on the other hand, was similar to me, she wasn’t as invested in quidditch as the rest, and instead enjoyed her position working at the ministry – though she did work in the sport department and was the head of organising quidditch events such as the world cup. Even though I had always been adamant that I wouldn’t work in quidditch, I think my family had always expected a change of heart and involving me in my dad’s training centre was one way to keep me connected to the sport in case I had a change of heart. But for now, that could go on the back burner, the dance was a slightly more pressing issue. 

I either had to find a way out of it (not going to happen if my friends had anything to do with it) or find a date that I wouldn’t want to kill after five minutes (not likely with my dislike of most of the boys at Hogwarts in our year). The dorm door opened, and a moment later my best friend of six years appeared, “hey Sophia,” she smiled walking over to my bed, “bonjour,” I laughed quietly at attempt at French, “bonjour,” I replied, watching her perch on the edge of my bed as I scooted my feet up towards my chest. 

Sophia had spent multiple summers and winters at my family’s house, she was well aware that most conversations took place in French, and although her main language was Greek, she made impressive attempts to keep track of and take part in, every conversation that happened while at our house. It was part of the reason that when she would swing by my dad’s training camps, that she was so popular with the rest of my family, and it was also why our friendship group was so strong – because most of us spoke one other language minimum and made attempts to join in with each other’s families’ languages too. 

“so, dance, date. Do you have one?” I scoffed quietly, “a date? I'm working on it,” her eyebrow raised unconvinced, “is your dress here yet?” I shook my head, she groaned, scrambling off my bed, and walked to her bed, the one directly to my left. Hung up at the end of the bed, nearest to the window, was her figure hugging, blood red, heavily sequined dress, “when is it arriving?” I shrugged unbothered, “I don’t know, soon I assume.” 

She rolled her eyes, well used to my general lack of excitement over anything to do with the dance, “at least tell me you know what colour the dress is,” I shrugged again, “not a clue, all I know is my mum was having it flown in from my aunt.” She threw herself theatrically back onto my bed, “your aunt in France or Canada?” I thought for a moment, “France,” she nodded slowly, having met my aunt once. 

“so, it’ll be tasteful if nothing else,” she commented after a moment’s pause, “I should hope so, you know my aunt, she wouldn’t send it if she thought it wasn’t perfect,” she laughed quietly nodding. “okie but date, any thoughts on who?” she wriggled her eyebrows suggestively which I ignored, reaching for a book, and stashing my dad’s note back in my bedside cabinet, “none at all.” 

I replied flatly, opening my book and placing it on my lap, “come on y/n! There must be someone you wouldn’t mind going with,” I made a tch sound, flipping the page on my book without raising my eyes to look at Sophia. Loud laughter in the corridor outside of our dorm room distracted her long enough to turn her attention away from me, and towards the door, where the rest of our dormmates (and friendship group) had arrived. “Sophia! Y/n!” they all bustled in, crowding onto the respective beds either side of mine, “hi,” I muttered realising I wouldn’t get out of not taking part in the conversation, I shut my book once more, and placed it on the bed beside me. 

The room fell silent for a moment, before their eyes turned to me, “so date?” Misa immediately asked, I shook my head, waiting for the next question, a flurry of questions continued all the way up until dinner, at which point the inquisition finally stopped long enough for everyone to grab comfortable hoodies. “is Percy taking Penelope?” Sophia asked quietly as we fell to the back of the group as we walked down towards the great hall, “of course,” I replied quietly, sharing a knowing smile.

“why not go with his roommate?” I shot her a confused look as we stepped inside the already crowded great hall, and moved swiftly over to the Gryffindor table, “take Wood.” She stated as though it was obvious, “I’d rather not,” I muttered, sliding onto the bench opposite her, with our friends sat to the right of us, and the seat next to me open. “why not? He’s cute,” my eyebrow raised, “you have a boyfriend,” she shrugged, “girl I'm not blind, he’s cute, you’re cute, you probably won’t kill him, you should go with him.” 

I scoffed quietly, pouring a glass of water so as to not meet her eye or pay her any attention, “just ask him already,” our other friends had finished their conversation and were now listening intently to ours, “just ask who what?” Alice asked, placing down her glass of water, and turning to us, eyebrow raised in a knowing smirk. “she wants me to go to the dance with Wood,” I stated, “I mean it’s not a bad idea lass,” a thick Scottish accent from behind me commented. 

Shooting Sophia, the darkest glare I could muster, I slowly turned to face Wood, “you’re right, it’s a terrible idea,” I replied flatly, forcing a painful smile onto my lips. “and why is it such a terrible idea?” he asked sliding into the empty seat beside me, “because I don’t do dances,” I replied, dropping my smile to glare at Sophia from the corner of my eye, who was smiling sweetly, a twinkle in her eye. “me neither, so why not go with me?” I glared at Sophia again, praying the ground would open up and give me an excuse to get out of the conversation, “I'm sure there is someone else you would far rather go with.” 

From behind me I heard several affected coughs, “there isn’t though is there, Wood? You want to take our beautiful y/n, right?” Sophia prompted, biting down on my lip, I reached for my wand, and did a silent charm to silence her for several minutes. “I mean who else are you going to go with?” Wood challenged completely ignoring Sophia’s comment, and Sophia in general, who was attempting to open her mouth only to find the silencing charm doing its job. Wood raised an eyebrow at me, clearly not willing to let me off until I answered his question, “myself,” I replied, removing the silencing charm off Sophia, anticipating a curse or some form of comment but instead watching as she smiled knowingly between us.

“me, myself and I can’t compare to Wood though,” Alice stated, trying to keep my face from grimacing, I watched silently for Wood’s reaction, noticing as Percy slid in opposite Wood, along side a few of their other dormmates, “no date for the dance, Wood?” Lee Jordan teased. “maybe,” Wood replied a small twinkle in his eye as he turned back to his friends, Sophia shot me a warning look, “go to the dance with Wood. No arguments,” I made another pft sound, and turned to the glass of water that I had poured before the conversation had taken a detour, “go with him,” she repeated firmly, moving my glass out of my reach, “I’ll consider it.” 

She rolled her eyes, turning to talk to Alice, while Misa glanced at me, “you okie?” I nodded taking back my glass, and taking a sip of it, “she’s right though, you two should go together,” I shrugged silently, placing my glass down in front of me, and looking down at the food. While we ate, the conversation of the dance seemed to populate all fifth year and above tables, with everyone discussing their outfits, and their partners for the dance. My friends – all of whom had partners – were all obviously going to attend with their partners, complete with matching outfits. 

“are you going to match outfits with your partner?” Percy asked Wood, curiosity entrenched in his voice, “maybe,” Wood replied, skirting around the conversation. “did you ask Penelope yet?” I asked Percy, steering attention away from Wood, “not yet,” Percy admitted, “then hurry up and go ask her,” I stated flatly, pushing the barely touched plate of food away from me, “I will,” he mumbled, “you better do it soon,” one of their other dormmates – Darien – stated, “and why’s that?” Percy asked defensively as Darien and Wood shared a look, “girls like it when you take control,” Darien replied evenly, popping a piece of food into his mouth as Percy shifted uneasily in his seat. 

Sensing I didn’t want to hear anymore of the surrounding conversations, I mentally prepared an excuse, “wouldn’t you want a boy to take the lead y/n?” Darien asked, all of their eyes – and all of my friends’ eyes suddenly turning to me. “uh sure,” Darien shot a smug look towards Percy who continued to shift uncomfortably, “see, girls like it when you take control,” Darien reaffirmed, rolling my eyes silently, I slipped my legs over the bench, “see you back at the dorm,” I muttered, pushing myself off the bench.

“do you want someone to come with you?” Misa offered, “it’s okay, I might go for a walk,” I replied offering a smile, and beginning to walk out of the great hall, instead of turning in the direction of the common room, I walked out towards one of the deserted parts of Hogwarts that was only used when prefects did their rounds, and when all other classrooms were otherwise in use. 

The corridors were a damn sight quieter than the rest of the school, and with this in mind, I slid into one of the alcoves of the window, and onto the windowsill. Pulling my knees up to my chest, I rested my head against the cool glass panes which had a light mist of condensation forming on them, maybe going with Wood to the dance wouldn’t be so bad, there were certainly worse options available. With that thought filling my head, I made my way back off the windowsill and then back in the general direction of the great hall. 

Peeking my head around the door, my eyes roamed the Gryffindor table, to have found several of my friends had already left, with only Percy and a few others still at the table – but no Wood, and no Alice or Sophia. Sliding over to the table, I stopped ahead of Percy, “do you know where Wood is?” I asked, he looked up, “ummm yeah he just left, I think he said he was going for a quick fly before going to the common room.”

I nodded, knowing immediately where I could find him, “thanks Perc,” giving Misa’s curious look a knowing smile of my own, I walked back out of the great hall, and huddled closer into my hoodie as I made my way towards the quidditch pitch. As expected, once I arrived at the pitch, I could see a lone person flying laps of the field, instead of calling up to him – knowing it would disturb whatever thought process he was in the middle of – I instead slid into the Gryffindor stands, and took a seat on the second row, knowing he would notice my arrival sooner or later. 

After a few moments, Wood did notice my arrival, and brought his broom to a hovering stop at the railings of the Gryffindor stands, “what brings you out here?” he asked, calling across to me, “wouldn’t you like to know,” I replied climbing over the front row seats to lean against the railings next to him. “I was thinking about what you said,” I explained after a moment, he nodded silently, gesturing for me to continue, “did anyone offer to take you to the dance?” he chuckled quietly, “nope, I'm not exactly what girls envisage when they think of a dashing partner for a dance. Did anyone ask you? Or perhaps I should improve my phrasing, did anyone ask you again?”

“maybe they did, maybe they didn’t, but either way, I wouldn’t be asking you if I was interested.” He laughed, leaning back on his broom, “is this your very indirect way of asking me to go with you?” I shrugged, a small smile appearing on my lips, “maybe it is,” he smirked, a warm smirk appearing on his lips as he looked off to the quidditch pitch and then back to me. 

“if you are asking that, then I would like to go with you,” I smiled, burying my hands deeper into the pockets of my hoodie, “oh and y/n, what colour is your dress?” I raised my eyebrow confused, “a few of the boys told me that matching with their partner is a nice touch,” I nodded slowly, “red, dark red.” He shot me his own confused look, “I thought your dress hadn’t arrived yet?” I shrugged, 

“my aunt would never allow one of her Gryffindor family members to wear anything but red for formal events at Hogwarts,” he nodded, offering me a somewhat fleeting smile as he went for another lap of the pitch. Watching for a moment, I vacated the stands, and walked back to the common room, uttering the password, before slipping up to the dorms, and then into warmer clothes and into my bed.

….

Sharing a dorm with my friends always made for an interesting awakening, and the last few years had proved that. But nothing could possibly top their wakeups on the day of big events, the previous few days had gone by in a whirlwind, with me only having told them that I had agreed to go to the dance with Oliver – having sidestepped the fact my dress still hadn’t arrived. A small detail which sent all of them into a bigger panic than it did me. 

“y/n!!!” Sophia practically shook me awake, barely giving me a chance to wipe the sleep out of my eyes before she was stood in front of me expectantly, “can I help you?” I groaned, blinking away the sunlight which already shone into our dorm. “why is your dress still not here!?!?” I shrugged, flopping back onto my bed, and pulling my pillow back over my head, only to have it removed from my hands. 

“let a girl sleep,” I groaned as she ripped the pillow away from me, tossing it towards the end of the bed, “no, we need to go and check for owls, check if it’s arrived yet.” I shrugged, “my aunt wouldn’t miss it, it’ll be here,” I knew my aunt well, she liked a theatrical arrival but would never miss a deadline. Realising Sophia wouldn’t let up, I dragged myself out of bed, into some fairly appropriate version of the school uniform, and down to a breakfast that was far too early for my liking. 

As predicted, almost as soon as we settled at breakfast, the arrival of last-minute owls flew in, dropping packages of all shapes and sizes at their respective students. Sophia sat beside me, moving in her seat in what must have been anxiety and anticipation. The relief was evident on her face, when my family’s owl – Beatrice – flew in, with an oversized package, that could only contain my dress. 

Dropping the package onto my lap, I smiled watching Beatrice settle beside my plate, waiting expectantly for her treat, passing her several treats, I turned over the package, noticing the letters attached – one from my dad and one from my aunt. Knowing the letter from my aunt would require a longer more elaborate response, I opted to read my dad’s letter first. Breaking the seal, I gave Beatrice a final pet before she flew out, and my French brain switched on. 

The entire letter was in his cursive handwriting, detailing what would be taking place over the half term break, what he needed from me specifically at his quidditch training for the trainees, and a few – if vague – details about the other coaches who had been invited to help out with the training.

“your dad?” Sophia asked, toying with the envelope, I nodded silently, sliding the note back into the envelope, and then sliding the two envelopes on top of the package. “he just wanted to make me aware of what he needs from me for his training thing,” she nodded knowingly, having seen the extent my dad expected from his children at the training event, and how grilling he could be. But then again, he would have never got to where he was without being a strict coach with high expectations.

“how did his letter and your aunts arrive at the same time?” she asked, lowering my voice, well aware that too many people enjoyed listening to other peoples’ conversations, “he was out with the French national quidditch team last week, their coach wanted him to scrutinise their plays for flaws.” It wasn’t uncommon for my dad to be out of the country, he was by far one of the most renowned and respected coaches out there, and it meant he wasn’t always home – though with his children at school or work – it didn’t matter as much as it would’ve had the situation been different. “so, are you going to try on your dress yet?” Sophia stated, shifting in anticipation as she looked the package, attempting to work out what the dress would look like, “no, it’ll be fine, I’ll put it on tonight,” I stated.

Her mouth dropped open in silent shock, “you have got to be kidding me! Don’t you want to check it’ll fit absolutely perfectly?” I shook my head, “my aunt knows what she’s doing, she knows my measurements, she’d never try and put me into something that wouldn’t look perfect.” Sophia shrugged turning to look at our friends for backup, when none was forthcoming – as they were all too fixated on their breakfasts, she sighed resignedly, turning to her own breakfast. 

Smiling to myself, I took a few mouthfuls of food, before deciding it was far too early for it, and instead sipped on water while my friends finished their breakfast. When they were done, we returned to our dorm room, and I placed the package in my trunk at the end of my bed, collecting my school bag, and then making my way to my first lesson of the day – one that none of my friends took. Advanced charms and transfiguration.

….

By the time Snape had finished his what should’ve been incredibly interesting lesson, but was incredibly boring lesson, I was practically excited for the dance. My friends had already disappeared off to their next class, and I had study periods for the rest of the day, which I utilised through catching up on sleep, well aware that my friends wouldn’t let me sleep when they were getting ready, and sure as hell wouldn’t let me turn up dressed as I wanted to be.

Several hours later, and more awake than I had been when Sophia had woken me up, I swung my legs over the side of my bed and watched as my friends entered the room. “y/n!!!” Sophia sprang over to me, tossing her school bag in the vague direction of her bed, “I can’t wait to help you get ready,” I glanced at her warily, knowing I was about to have all input on my evening attire thrown out the window. “go get showered…” she trailed off noticing several of the other girls had beaten her to it, and were already showering, smiling at her, I laid back on my bed, expecting to be left alone for another half an hour or so. 

More fool me for expecting that. Usually, Sophia was her own makeup guru, but on social events, she always got her friends to do her makeup, on this occasion, I happened to be the lucky person in charge of her face for the night. By the time I had completed a couple of layers of sparkly eyeshadow, I all but ran into the bathroom the second it was vacated, taking my sweet time to have a hot shower, before summoning for my dress for the evening. Locking the door again as soon as the dress was inside the room, I began the somewhat overzealous process of putting the dress on.

My aunt’s taste was beyond impeccable. A crimson red, body hugging dress with an open back, long sleeves, and thankfully no slit up the leg. The open back had a clasp at the back. A golden snitch, how fitting. Glancing over myself in the mirror, I took a deep breath, the dress was tight, not to the point where I couldn’t breathe, but to a point where if someone were to try and grip it too tightly to do it up, I may not be able to breathe as easily. 

Slowly unlocking the door, and then stepping out into the dorm room, I waited for a reaction, “oh my god,” Sophia mumbled, I winced quietly, keeping my eyes shut, “it’s gorgeous!” she screamed, my eyes flew open as she hurried towards me, “let’s get you done up!” Alice stated also hurrying to me, pushing Sophia in the direction of the bathroom, “a golden snitch?” she asked gesturing for me to bundle my hair up so that she could do up the clasp, “naturally,” I muttered, like the rest of the friendship group, Alice was aware of who my family were. 

“it should’ve been the three hoops instead!” Sophia yelled from the bathroom, clearly not letting the sound of the shower drown out the conversation, “because Wood is a keeper?” Misa asked smirking, “well that too, but because he’s the keeper of the team!” I smiled shaking my head, as Alice pulled the two sides of the dress together to do up the clasp.

“yikes,” I muttered under my breath, “you okie?” she asked, “I’ll let you know if I can’t breathe,” I replied, relieved when I heard the clasp click into place. “does it look okay?” I asked her and Misa, smoothing down the front of the dress, and then taking in the lace open back in the mirror, “absolutely divine,” Misa stated, walking over to me, and then taking my hand to lead me to the bed, gently pushing on my shoulders for me to sit. As soon as I was seated, she began fixing my hair, and then my makeup, and then Sophia re-emerged in her own red dress, which was a deep V-neck, with a slit up the leg, and somehow even more figure hugging than my own. 

“you look beautiful,” she turned to offer me a smile, “same to you gorgeous,” I smiled, noticing how her hair and makeup – similarly to the other girls – had already been fixed. “I'm so nervous,” Misa admitted after a moment as we each set about putting on our shoes, the rest of our friends then confessed their own nervousness about the dance. “I hate to point it out, but at least you guys are going with your partners, I'm going with someone I'm hardly even friends with,” they all shrugged in their own ways, “but it’s Wood, he’s a total sweetheart,” Alice stated, the others nodded in agreement, “a true gentleman,” I shrugged, “a true gentleman more interested in quidditch than girls,” I stated flatly.

“he can’t be, he wanted to go with you,” I made another tch sound, I was not a fan of being around quidditch fanatics – a side effect of being surrounded by quidditch players for every second of my life that was not spent at Hogwarts, at Hogwarts at least the concentration of quidditch players was less concentrated – even if there were more overexcitable fans. “let’s go,” before I could dwell anymore on the topic, Sophia was hurrying us all out of the room and down into the overcrowded common room, which was made up of tons of students all dressed impeccably for the occasion. 

I pretended not to notice how my friends all split off to find their respective partners, leaving me to push my way through the crowd in the somewhat vain hope of finding Wood. I quietly wove my way through the hoards of students, looking for his brown hair and the thick Scottish drawl, “there you are, y/n,” I looked to my left to see him stood talking with his dormmates, “hello,” I mumbled walking to stand next to him, offering his roommates a gritted teeth kind of smile. 

He smiled down on me, before continuing to talk with his friends, keeping my eye level low, I paid very little attention to the conversation in front of me, only looking up when Wood turned to me. “would I be able to put my arm around your waist?” I nodded slowly, feeling the warmth of his arm wrap around my waist, his hand resting on the right side of my waist, a small smile on his lips as he continued to talk to his friends. When at long last everyone began to exit the common room, we walked slowly behind the masses of the crowd, my eyes roamed over those ahead of us, picking out a nervous Percy Weasley immediately. 

“he’s nervous for everyone to see him with Penelope in a non-prefect sense,” Wood explained from where he was beside me, I nodded, watching as Percy slowed after spotting us, and hung back enough to fall in step with us. “you look very nice Perc,” I commented, a small smile of relief came onto his face, “do you think Penelope will like it?” I smiled, gently patting his shoulder, “she’ll love it Perc.” He smiled again, this time spotting Penelope in her flowing blue dress, and bidding us a quick goodbye, hurried towards her.

“young love,” I commented under my breath as Wood guided us into the great hall, which similarly to the common room, was already packed with students in varying expensive outfits and garments. “I should have said this earlier, but you look absolutely stunning,” Wood commented, his grip on my waist tightening ever so slightly as multiple people looked us up and down, their eyes focusing in on me and my dress. 

“thank you, Wood, you look very dashing too, even if you don’t think girls are into it,” he chuckled quietly, glaring across at several of the boys in our year whose eyes were roaming across the room. “hardly dashing,” I shrugged, gently fixing his red tie a little higher on his shirt, “hmmm, I'm pretty sure all the girls currently glaring at me would imply otherwise,” he scoffed quietly before noticing all the eyes that were glaring at the back of my head. 

“told you so,” he scoffed again shaking his head but made no further comment, and instead walked us over to a table where multiple members of our friendship groups were sat with their respective dates and partners. Sophia spent the duration of the meal at the tables sat shooting me knowing looks, all of which I ignored, instead focusing on anything else in the room – the elaborately designed ice sculptures made for a good distraction.

The rest of the evening was spent dancing, or for the most part me and Wood talking quietly at the table, with only very occasional quick dances as far away from the rest of the student population as possible. “one last dance,” Wood stated holding out his hand to me, taking a deep breath, I slid my hand into his, and allowed him to lead me out onto the dance floor with the rest of our friends for one last dance. 

Unlike every other school dance, the last dance was not some crappy slow love song, but rather an upbeat fun dancing song, which had everyone dancing together and finally letting loose from an evening that was incredibly formal. Dancing with Wood was fun I thought to myself, watching as my other friends and their partners joined us in the final dance, when the music ended and the party was over, we walked back to the common room, once again me and Wood following behind the others. 

“tonight was fun,” I commented as we entered the common room, pretending not to notice the way my friends and their partners all moved less than subtly towards our dorm, “it was,” Wood agreed, “this has been annoying me all night, but is that a golden snitch on the back of your dress?” I laughed quietly, “I assumed you hadn’t noticed.”

He shrugged, ignoring the curious eyes that lingered on us as other students disappeared off to their dorm rooms, “I noticed it, but what puzzles me, is why you have it on your dress.” I smiled softly, “my secret,” his eyebrow raised curiously as he ran his hand through his hair, “thank you for tonight Wood, sleep well, goodnight,” he smiled in return. “goodnight y/n, you sleep well too, tonight was good, I'm glad I got to spend it with you,” I smiled bidding him a final goodnight before walking off in the direction of my dorm room, up the stairs, and then stood outside of the door a moment, gently opening the door, and peaking my head around it. 

The room was full of my friends, and their partners in various states of getting into bed. Having grown up with my friends, I knew from experience that I did not want to be in the room with all of this going on. Making a stealthy quick retreat back down the stairs I re-entered the now empty common room, “aren’t you going to bed?” Wood asked me, startling me from where he had taken a seat on one of the sofas in front of the fire, “my friends are in there with their partners. I’ll give it five minutes,” I replied taking a seat in one of the armchairs, folding one leg over the other and staring into the warm glow of the fire.


	2. Reunited

The end of term at Hogwarts ahead of a break always bought with it a hum of excitement – and in turn, an atmosphere of utter panic – as students attempted to cram their various items back into their trunks, which had shut at the beginning of term, but were unlikely to shut correctly again. My friends were unsurprisingly no exception, and as I sat reclining comfortably on my bed, flicking through a copy of Witch Weekly (think Cosmo but for witches), with the Daily Prophet beside me, reading over another article celebrating my brother and sister, my friends were running around the room. 

Sparks and spells flew as my friends attempted to get all of their clothes into their trunks, expertly ducking another spell, I sat back up, and glanced over to the clock on the wall, “five minutes,” I announced teasingly. Scrambling off my bed to tuck my magazine and newspaper into my backpack which I slung over my shoulder, on top of the Gryffindor hoodie that I had pulled on for the journey back to Kings Cross. 

My trunk was already at the end of my bed, with my dress from the dance hanging up from the canopy of my bed in its’ protective bag, “it’s alright for you, y/n,” Sophia groaned, grabbing her dress bag and dumping it on top of her trunk haphazardly. “you packed already,” I smiled sweetly at her, “it’s called being prepared,” this was a discussion that we had every time before a holiday, and seeing as all of us went home, you’d think it was something my friends would plan for. Except they never did. 

“are you even going home?” Misa asked from her bed, swinging her legs, I nodded, “I'm going home for all of one day to get my washing done, and then we are going straight to my dad’s training centre.” After the dance I had sat down and read my dad’s letter, which had explained how my siblings had both already managed to get home, and that my sister would collect me from Kings Cross, dressed down as much as a famous commentator can. 

The letter had also hinted at several of the other coaches that would be there – seeing as I only went along to coach at my dad’s training session once in a blue moon, I didn’t actually know half of the other coaches, which in my cynical mind could only mean one thing. I was in for a few nasty surprises. Pushing that thought to the back of mind, knowing that my dad’s strict hierarchy was often used, I looked around the room. 

“do you think you’ll be one of the better coaches there?” Misa asked as Alice and Sophia headed out of the room, both magicking their dress bags ahead of them while they pulled their trunks behind them. “unlikely,” I muttered as we followed them, my dress bag folded over my arm, while I used my other hand to pull my trunk, “my dad has some of the best of his players come and coach too, along with alumni of his programme, and let’s not forget he is one of the best coaches out there, and my brother usually has a few fans out of the trainees.”

Admittedly I hadn’t spent time at one of my dad’s training camps since summer, which had been months ago, but I did often spent time at the centre working behind the scenes, and I knew the hierarchy my dad operated under. Even some of the most experienced coaches didn’t get treated any differently to his children, though many would argue my brother was undoubtedly the favourite – which I only slightly disagreed with. “wait so are you actually helping with training this time?” she asked curiously as we joined the queue of Gryffindors attempting to get out of the common room with all of their luggage and down to the great hall. 

“I mean he usually drags me out to help with training anyway, so I guess I'm just doing what I always do, and I’ll just keep my head down,” I replied with a shrug of my shoulders. The queue for the great hall became ever slower as more students piled in with their luggage, not that this seemed to affect the quidditch team who unlike my friends, had been organised enough to be at the front of the queue – and with the addition of Wood/Percy’s roommates, they made their way out the portrait hole. While we remained stuck behind the hordes of confused younger students, “next time, I'm not waiting for y’all,” I stated flatly, tying my hair up into a ponytail as we edged ever closer to the portrait hole and then freedom.

Though life at Hogwarts was never that simple, and by the time we had finally made it down to the great hall, we then had to sit and wait to be briefed about getting the train back to Kings Cross. Maybe it was because Hogwarts was a school of magic, but the second everyone was allowed to go, there was once more orderly chaos, of all students, luggage, and animals attempting to get out of the great hall and down to the train station as fast as possible. 

My friends having been crushed in the chaos before, hung back until it was slightly clearer, especially as knew that getting down to the train station wouldn’t guarantee good seats on the train. By the time that we arrived at the train station, we were able to calmly board the train, leaving our luggage in the luggage section, and then taking our dress bags and ourselves into one of the few properly empty carriages, filtering into an empty compartment, and settling ourselves in our usual fashion. I settled on the seat closest to the window, resting my head against it, and watching in silence as my friends chatted and the last few stragglers boarded the train with their luggage.

The duration of the ride was filled with my friends’ continual chatter which I occasionally took part in, but my mind was elsewhere. I knew my sister would dress down and would try and blend in as much as she humanly could, but realistically she was a very stand out kind of person, and if you knew what you were looking for, she was easy to pick out of a crowd. As the train pulled into Kings Cross, my eyes roamed the platform, my friends piling behind me to catch a glimpse of their own families. 

When the train pulled to a stop, the chaos of before returned, as all the students from their various carriages piled out, grabbing their luggage as fast as humanly possible. I reached for my backpack quickly slinging it over my shoulder, and then grabbed my dress bag, following my friends back out of the carriage – and grabbing my trunk along the way – we made our way onto the platform. 

Wood and Percy were already off the train and I could see them talking a few metres away from where I was stood, “y/n, there you are!” my sister appeared by my side, her French accent firmly switched on. “Lilli!” she laughed taking my dress bag from me and wrapping her arm around me to squeeze me into a hug, “I'm so glad to see you finally!” she squealed, squeezing my shoulders, as we swapped into French. 

“I'm glad to see you too!” she laughed, “dad is waiting in the carpark, and he wants to tell you about the plans for the training camp,” I nodded, dragging my trunk behind me, waving to my friends as we left the platform and returned to the muggle world. “how many people are meant to be coming to this camp?” she shrugged, “he said he’d called in some of his alumni and other coaching friends to try and cover it, but it does mean you need to be involved actively. 

In front of them. not just behind the scenes,” I sighed as we waited patiently behind many of the Hogwarts students who were also trying to escape the madness of Kings Cross during rush hour, the walk down to the car park was significantly slowed by the hordes of muggles combined with the Hogwarts students, and by the time we finally got down to the car park, we found our dad waiting impatiently inside the car. “hi y/n,” he stated hugging me and pressing a kiss to my hair, before putting my trunk and dress bag in the boot of the car while me and Lili climbed onto the backseat. 

As it turned out, my dad’s explanation of what was going to happen at the camp, was almost the exact same as the one he gave every year, just with a few more details about the alumni and extra coaches that he would be taking on for this particular camp. His vague explanation gave me no enthusiasm whatsoever as I sat staring out of the window on the drive back to our family house. 

The drive was quiet after my dad finished explaining, leaving me to work out how many different ways I could possibly get out of having to play a particularly active role in any of the academy in front of however many students my dad had taken on this time. It wasn’t uncommon for the academy to take some of the best quidditch players from Hogwarts – and this was usually the reason that I had tried in previous years to stay hidden behind the scenes. 

Even Percy, who had no interest whatsoever in quidditch, knew who my family were, and it was part of the reason that in many ways our friendship was so strong. Despite being very oblivious, Percy didn’t judge me based on my family, and that had meant we were good friends with a stable friendship, and this had also been a good cover for keeping my family a secret, away from the prying ears of the Hogwarts student body. 

Pulling up outside our house, my sister was already unloading the boot by the time I had managed to scramble out of the car and sling my backpack back over my shoulder. Taking the trunk off my sister, I dragged it up to our house and then inside, my dad and sister followed behind helping me drag the trunk inside, before magicking it up the stairs. “there she is!” Dom yelled walking out of the kitchen, as I put my backpack and dress bag on the sofa, he swooped me up in his arms, lifting me clean off the floor, “it’s been too long sis,” I laughed quietly hugging him back, before turning to hug my dad, and then my mum. 

“back for a little bit,” mum commented, running a hand through my hair, and offering me a small smile, “and then she comes to help with training,” Dom added, smirking in a teasing way, knowing full well that I would want to keep a low profile for the duration of the week that would be spent at the academy. My mum shot him a glare, wrapping her arm around my shoulder, “I’ll help you unpack and repack,” she said offering a smile as we climbed the stairs into my overdecorated room.

Between my dad’s academy, our house, and living at Hogwarts, all of my rooms had varying states of decoration (and tidiness), though my mum had always insisted on our bedrooms being tidy, and that meant that packing for the following week wouldn’t take long. I watched unsurprised as she used her wand to effectively pack a suitcase for me ahead of the following day, while simultaneously emptying my trunk and sending all the clothes that had been confined within it to be washed. 

“I love magic sometimes,” I hummed under my breath, setting about packing up my backpack for life at my dad’s academy for the next week. “it’s pretty incredible,” my mum replied offering a smile, as I finished packing my backpack, and she took my arm, walking us back downstairs to where my siblings and dad were settled discussing the final details of the academy. The academy was very much a family thing, and mum would be coming with us, though she was like me and preferred to work behind the scenes wherever she could. If only I had that option.

….

Following morning

Thankfully, my family didn’t make a point of driving very often, and this meant that any transport to the academy was almost always via apparition. While I didn’t enjoy the physical feeling of apparition, it was a damn sight more convenient than being confined to the back of a car during rush hour traffic as everyone attempted to be on their merry way into the holidays. 

With all of our luggage being apparated by my brother and father, me, Lili, and mum only had to worry about apparating ourselves to the academy, and as the only one who couldn’t apparate alone yet, that meant I was apparating with Lili. “this should be fun,” I muttered under my breath, taking Lili’s arms and preparing to have my body contorted and my lungs restricted. She smiled reassuringly at me, knowing how many times it had taken for her to get used to the foreign and downright uncomfortable process of apparition. Mentally saying goodbye to our house, I took in a breath, nodding to Lili to apparate.

Seconds later and we landed on the main corridor of accommodation for staff at the academy, Dom and dad were already moving our luggage to be outside of the correct bedroom, with the bedrooms ranked in order of importance the further down the corridor you went. My mum and dad’s shared room was obviously at one end of the corridor, followed by mine and my siblings’ rooms, which were then followed by the coaches – in order of seniority. 

Pushing open the door to my room, I dragged my various pieces of luggage in behind me, letting the door fall softly shut as I moved the suitcase over to the centre of the room, up against the wall beside the mirror, with the intention to unpack before I had to be dragged out onto the field to meet the rest of the coaches – and the students. Earlier than expected, I was being dragged down onto the quidditch pitch, my staff/coach hoodie pulled down as far as it would go in a poor attempt to keep me warm, 

Lili tapped my head with her wand, putting a warming charm on me, as we stood beside each other, watching Dom balance precariously on his broom as he checked the sturdiness of the hoops. “we should’ve got Viktor to do this,” I muttered under my breath, wincing as Dom wobbled slightly before smirking and straightening up agile, “he will be the death of me,” I muttered, feeling less than forgiving as he continued to fly around the pitch.

Our dad was stood in the centre of the pitch, a little way behind us, his eyes kept as closely on Dom as ours were, “coach! Coach y/l/n!” the yell of several voices left me and Lili to watch Dom finish the job, before turning to follow our dad over to the group of alumni coaches and professional coaches that had just arrived. “welcome back all of you,” my dad smiled cheerily at all of them – all of the alumni coaches were those he had favourited during training, and the pro coaches were his friends – the students likely wouldn’t get the same warm welcome. 

“thank you all for agreeing to come and help with this training week, I very much appreciate it, if you need anything you can always ask my wife – she is up in her office – or you can ask one of my children. For those of you who don’t remember, this is Liliana, my eldest daughter, one of the head coaches and a quidditch commentator, and I'm sure most of you do not need your memories jogging that this is my professional quidditch player son Dominic. However, some of you may need introduction to my youngest daughter who is currently still in school, this is y/n, she is usually here during these sessions but doesn’t usually work on the pitch – though is very capable – and if you need any questions, she is more than qualified to answer them.” 

I smiled uncomfortably, hearing the hushed gasp, my eyes flicked over to the alumni coaches and my heart immediately sunk. Of course, Oliver Wood – one of my dad’s favourite students would be back as a coach, and now it was no secret as to why the snitch had been on the back of my dress. “y/n will take you up to your rooms, so if you would like to follow her and get settled in, and then come back down here so we can talk about training this holiday.” 

I cursed internally, arranging my features into a perfect smile, shooting my dad a glare before I smiled at the alumni and coaches, “if you would like to follow me,” the sound of grumbling as they picked back up their luggage was enough to tell me that they were following me as I led them back inside. “so how are you feeling?” my dad’s best friend and the honorary uncle to our family, the head coach for the French quidditch team walked beside me asking in French, “I'm okay uncle,” his eyebrow rose silently as I led the group up the stairs in the general direction of the corridor of bedrooms. “how are you?” he chuckled at my poor attempt to divert attention away from myself, “you look as delighted as always to be here,” I shrugged, “you know as well as everyone else, I don’t like making my presence known.”

He nodded understandingly as we reached the corridor, and I began directing the less senior coaches and alumni to their various rooms, that were furthest from the family rooms, “what about boyfriends or crushes?” I laughed quietly, my eyes diverting to the remaining members of the staff team who were filing into their rooms – my eyes slowly following Oliver. 

“maybe a little,” my uncle laughed, “enough said,” he replied waving to me, as he entered his bedroom, charming his luggage to follow behind him. Enough said indeed. Re-joining my family down on the quidditch pitch, I thought over what my uncle and I had talked about, “so, recognise anyone yet?” Dom asked me, propping his arm onto my shoulder which I immediately shrugged off. “one or two,” I admitted watching as several of the coaches reappeared in front of us, followed by Oliver, 

“I know that face,” Lili commented to me in French, I shot her a silencing look, but she ignored it, smiling knowingly, “it’s the look I gave my partner when we first began getting to know each other.” Whether her comment was overheard by the rest of our family, I was unsure, but the look my brother sent me, confirmed that he had heard, and very much agreed.

While our dad began explaining what he had already explained to us about his expectations for the coming week, and what would be required from the various coaches and alumni, my eyes drifted across the coaches – most of them long term friends or well known alumni, either way, I recognised all of the people who would be living down the corridor from me for the week. 

Including one of the youngest coaches, Dylan – a family friend, who took great delight in winding me up. He smirked across at me from beside my brother, shooting me a knowing look, clearly my brother had managed to inform him of what Lili had said without me noticing. I waited silently, barely listening as my dad continued on his lecture, until he told the coaches to go with him and wait out the front of the centre for the various students who would be arriving soon. 

Leaving me, my siblings and Dylan to ensure the quidditch pitch was in good condition for the first game of the week, “so y/n,” Dylan stated sliding up beside me immediately, “whatever it is, no.” I replied pulling down my hoodie even further, “which coach do you have a crush on?” he asked, as I rolled my eyes, passing him his broom for him and Dom to circle the hoops and tell us if there were any issues with them. 

“none of them,” I stated flatly, watching him smirk as him and Dom flew up to the first set of hoops, “it’s ok if you do like Wood,” Lili murmured as we walked across the pitch to the base of the hoops, where the boys were examining them, giving us a thumbs up when they were happy, and then flying to the other set of hoops. “who says I like him?” I replied eyebrow raised, “it’s obvious he likes you,” she replied, while I rolled my eyes, “obvious my broom,” I grumbled under my breath, “and you like him right back,” she added in French, nodding to Dylan when he gave us a thumbs up from the hoops. 

As they came back to the ground, I rolled my eyes, “he’s very cute, I’ll admit,” she nudged me teasingly in the ribs, as Dylan draped a lazy arm over my shoulder, “so when are you going to go on a date with the not so mysterious man?” he asked, his French impeccable as it always had been. Especially at my dad’s work, we always spoke in French, knowing only the family and close friends understood what we would be saying, and it was never in regard to the work, but only things we were discussing of a personal nature that we didn’t want the rest of the coaches to be able to understand. Like this.

The reappearing of many of the senior coaches put an end to our conversation as many of the students for the week followed behind the alumni, and we settled into our respective positions, me huddled between my siblings, while Dylan settled beside Dom, and our honorary uncle settled on the other side of dad. Behind us and around to the sides were the rest of the coaches and alumni, and I didn’t miss the look Lili shot me when I ended up Wood only a little way away from me, shooting her a ferocious look of mine, I attempted to keep my focus on what the students were being told. 

We smiled sweetly at the many students, before separating to take different groups up to their accommodation to unpack and get ready for the week ahead. While I managed to escape to behind the scenes and avoid the various Hogwarts students who were among the students, my siblings took over being centre stage – roles that they filled more than happily alongside Dylan and my dad. Having taken the students to their rooms, I found myself walking back from the office where my mum was working, I slowed my steps, noticing the people ahead of me, Dylan was stood leisurely talking to Wood, a smile on Dylan’s lips as he continued talking, only noticing me when I was a little way off from where they were stood.

“y/n! we were just talking about you,” I glanced out of the corner of my eye to Wood who shifted uneasily, “all good I hope,” I replied, stopping beside Dylan who smiled down at me, a twinkle in his eye, “now it would be unfair to tell you that,” I rolled my eyes at him, slapping his arm, “did my dad want you to do a job, Wood?” I asked, deciding the best process to dealing with Dylan, was the most tried and tested method, ignore him completely. 

“yeah, he asked us to come and find you actually,” I internally cursed, trust my dad to send Wood to find me, “did you drag him with you?” I asked turning to Dylan in French, “would I do that to you?” my eyebrow rose silently as Dylan’s eyes twinkled. “whatever,” turning back to Wood I offered a forced smile, “I’ll be down in a moment, I just need to speak to my mum,” the lie had the pair turning around and walking back down the corridor while I waited a few moments for them to disappear, before following them down to the pitch. 

The pitch was already in full use, with all the students for the week making use of the expert coaches, I slid onto a seat in the stands under the covers, watching quietly from where I was, knowing I would be called forward if my dad decided he wanted me to help with the training. “you should make a move,” Dom commented, sliding into the seat next to me, “you know, I'm fine, thanks,” I replied sarcastically, pulling my knees up towards me, 

“nah, you’re just pretending,” he replied, as I glared at him from the corner of my eye, “you don’t know that,” he scoffed quietly, “I know you well enough to know when you’re faking it.” Rolling my eyes, I shuffled back on my seat, “and I'm faking it?” he nodded, “you should just make a move already, put us and yourself out of our misery,” I scoffed quietly, “not convinced I want to do that,” he rolled his eyes at me, “too bad, you’ll have to do it sooner or later.”

Patting my shoulder, which was less than comforting, he walked down the stands and towards the many students who had been fangirling/fanboying over him ever since they had laid eyes on him earlier. “y/n!” I glanced up to where my dad was beckoning for me, and walked down the stands, avoiding the group of people as they stared mesmerised at my brother, “can you and Wood go up to my office and grab the plays book?” I nodded slowly, turning to look for Wood, who was stood several metres away. 

“Wood, let’s go,” his eyes flickered over to mine, moving swiftly to my side, he offered a disarming smile that usually had the younger students swooning, “we’re getting the plays book, right?” he asked, I nodded, glancing behind me, to notice my brother and dad wink at each other. cheek of the devil. “where is your dad’s office?” Wood asked as I led him in the general direction of the corridor of power – as I had nicknamed the corridor when I realised my dad’s friends weren’t the average friends, that my friends’ parents had.

“up here,” I replied, tapping the code onto the small keypad beside the door, “wow,” Wood murmured as I pushed open the door to the large office, which as per usual was empty, with my mum busy working in her own office. “where do we need to look for the book?” I smiled walking over to the large inbuilt shelves, which were piled high with books, “I didn’t realise your dad was the coach y/l/n,” Wood commented as my eyes roamed the bookshelves, “I don’t make a point of telling people.” 

I replied quietly, pushing the small wooden step ladder under the shelf where the book was, “I can get that if you want,” Wood offered, “it’s fine,” I replied, waving him off with my hand, and reaching to pull the book off the shelf. Tucking it under my arm, I glanced back at Wood, “it’s not as fun as you think, you know, being the daughter of a quidditch family isn’t any more fun than anyone else’s life.” He didn’t say anything for a moment as we left the office and began walking back down towards the pitch, “would you change it if you could?” he asked as we continued back down the stands, I handed the plays book to my dad before settling on the front row plastic seats to watch from the side lines.

“probably not, but it’s nice to not be constantly surrounded by quidditch,” I replied quietly, “which is why you never come to quidditch matches at school?” I nodded, folding one leg over the other and snuggling into my hoodie, “you should come to them, it would be nice to see you there.” I made no comment in response, instead watching as many of the lead coaches and assistants shepherded the students off the pitch and inside – most likely for food. 

“go inside, I'm going to help clean up,” I murmured standing up, and walking towards several of the other more experienced coaches and alumni (that I actually liked), to help clean up. While many of the coaches also went inside, leaving only me and a few others – including Wood – to clean up, eventually almost everything was tidy, and I sent off the other helpers to go and get food, knowing I would be able to wait, and that it was ultimately my responsibility to make sure the pitch was in good condition before any training sessions that might take place later in the day.

“you work yourself incredibly hard considering you say you aren’t fond on quidditch,” Wood commented as I put away the last quaffle, “it’s called family reputation and attitude,” I replied, glancing back at the centre of the pitch, and walking into it, to glance around the stands, my eyes searching for anything that could possibly have been forgotten. “you work yourself too hard,” Wood replied quietly, standing next to me, easily being able to see around us, his tall self, glancing around unphased. “it’s part of the job,” I replied quietly, turning to meet his eye properly for the first time in several hours, “it’s not good for you though if you’re continually tired,” he replied, I shrugged, noticing how we had angled ourselves towards each other. 

“it is what it is,” he shook his head at me, placing his hand on my face, my eyes immediately roamed up to the private box that I had stood in many times – and knew had a direct look down onto the centre of the pitch. Whatever thoughts had been going through my head, immediately disappeared when his other hand slipped onto my waist, “and I suppose this is what ‘it is what it is’ has been leading up to for the last few weeks,” he replied, a smirk appearing on his lips.

“I suppose it is,” I murmured back quietly, suddenly at a loss for words, but my hands weren’t at a loss for action, and one hand slipped to grasp hold of his hoodie as he leaned ever closer to me, and my other arm slipped around to reach up to the back of his neck. “good,” he murmured, our lips meeting for a moment, but the loud cheer from the private box didn’t last for a single moment sadly, “I could slap him sometimes,” I muttered, glancing up towards the box where my siblings and Dylan were stood smirking – and handing over coins. 

Cheeky sods had been betting on it all the way along. 

“then maybe you should entertain him a little more,” Wood replied, our lips meeting once more, the sound of cheers continuing, I glanced up at him, my eyes expanding widely at what had just happened – and what Dylan most likely wouldn’t let me forget for the next year at the very minimum. “let’s go inside,” Wood slid his hand into mine, “and when we’re back in the privacy of Hogwarts, you should come to a quidditch match,” still at a general loss for words, I only nodded in response. The rest of the week was going to be interesting…

The end.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey hey! I've been working on this one for quite a while, so am very happy to have finally figured out an appropriate ending! I hope you all enjoyed reading this, even if I did get it posted slightly later than I had been hoping, anyways, I'm not convinced I'm going to get a valentines piece out in time, so it might be a little late (but hopefully still this month). School is usually my reason for not writing loads, but I do have a break coming up soon, so I'm hoping I'll be able to get some more pieces written and posted (if I stop watching league long enough that is). Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, and I'll see you on the next piece!!!! Byeeeeeeeee~


End file.
